For fresh breath and a healthy mouth dental professionals recommend cleaning the tongue every day as part of an effective oral hygiene routine. Here’s how to clean the tongue in 7 simple steps:
- Ideally, use a tool specially designed for cleaning the tongue like the Sunstar GUM Tongue Cleaner. If you don’t have one, use your toothbrush or a metal teaspoon turned upside down.
- Clean your tongue each time you brush your teeth (twice a day), especially if you smoke or suffer from post-nasal drip.
- Gently scrape from as far back as you can without gagging, to the front of the tongue. Breathing out as your clean the back of the tongue helps prevent gagging.
- Rinse the tool between each swipe.
- Gargle with water or an alcohol-free mouthwash.
- Clean the tongue before or after brushing and flossing – whichever you prefer. Cleaning the tongue at night can help prevent ‘morning breath’.
- For extra freshness use a small amount of toothpaste and gently brush the tongue before cleaning.
The Sunstar GUM Tongue Cleaner very cleverly has two edges – one with soft bristles to gently brush the tongue and one with a serrated edge to wipe clean.
WIN! You can win with our February #FreshBreathFix campaign. There are weekly Sunstar GUM hampers and two premium DSLR Lumix cameras up for grabs. Simply follow us on Facebook and look out for the weekly competitions.
GIVE! Giving feels good! We’ve chosen to support the Dental Wellness Trust during February’s #FreshBreathFix campaign. Each time someone signs up for our newsletter (www.ivohealth.co.za/contact-us) we will donate a Sunstar GUM children’s toothbrush on their behalf, to the Dental Wellness Trust’s oral health education programme in Khayelitsha. This programme is teaching 10, 000 pre-school learners how to look after their teeth so they can enjoy a lifetime of healthy smiles. Please sign up and support this great initiative.
